There’s a kangaroo in Jefferson County!

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Jefferson County might be quite a distance from the Australian Outback, but the two locations now share a unique similarity: both are home to Red Kangaroos.
While the large kangaroo species roam all over the Australian continent, Jefferson County is home to only one: a small, six-and-a-half-month-old joey named Gili (pronounced “Kili” in Native Aborigine).
Gili's name means 'Flame' in the native language, and Ryan Reines, the director of Jefferson County's Wildlife Conservation Center, explains that they decided on the name as a mark of respect and recognition for the recent fires that burned across the Australian continent.
Despite the homage of Gili's name, and the fact that he is part of native Australian wildlife, Reines says that Gili has never been to Australia. In fact, the small, reddish-brown kangaroo was born in Michigan at another conservation center.
“Australia has been closed to the exportation of native animals for decades,” explains Reines.
Gili was born at the Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park in Alta, Mich., where Reines knew the facility’s director.
Gili was transported into the WCC's care about a month ago in order to expand the Jefferson County facility's wildlife outreach and education programs.
“We're always trying to teach people about wild and endangered species,” said Reines. While Red Kangaroos are not endangered, Reines notes that the current state of Australia's wildfires and the deaths of countless animals in Australia makes Gili's role at the WCC all the more meaningful.
“Given everything going on in Australia right now, it's a very relevant topic. Just having a kangaroo, it's been an awesome experience for the people that come out here,” adds Reines.
With the 10-acre spread that the WCC is preparing for Gili's eventual habitat, the kangaroo will have plenty of space to stretch out his legs, but for now, the small joey spends most of his time indoors with his human caretakers.
Gili is still very young, and in the wild, a kangaroo joey would continue to be dependent on their mother until around a year old. Though his mother is not near him, Gili's human 'foster parents' have taken on the role of feeding and watching after the little joey, as well as carrying him in in a homemade pouch, which Reines says Gili often sleeps in.
While Gili does eat some solid food, his caretakers also provide four bottles of milk to him daily, as he would still be requiring nourishment from his mother as well.
At around his third year, Gili will be considered completely matured and fully grown, and while Gili is only a foot or so tall now, he will eventually grow to be one of the largest marsupial species in the world.
Red Kangaroos are both the largest kangaroo species as well as the largest marsupial and male Red Kangaroos can grow up to six feet tall.
“I may be looking up to him someday,” laughs Reines.
But for now, Gili is still small and fits easily in his caregivers' arms – he still has several years to go before being the kangaroo giant he is destined to become.
While the WCC's primary focus has, up to this point, been lemurs and birds, Reines says it hasn't taken much work to accommodate Gili into the center's family.
“This is very normal for me,” explains Reines. “I have worked with a lot of kangaroos.”
Considering Gili is so small and doesn't yet require a large track of land to run and forage on, Reines says his center has had no problems integrating Gili into their daily life.
Gili will be part of the educational programs that the WCC offers, and Reines says that even he has learned things from the little joey.
“Raising a kangaroo in the Tallahassee and Lamont areas has really opened my eyes to how odd it is that this is so normal to me – it's really shown me that.”
Most people don't have a kangaroo joey hopping around their office, but many people also don't know about the interesting lives these large marsupials live.
Iconic Red Kangaroos such as Gili are not considered endangered, even with the devastating fires in Australia having killed countless kangaroos.
But there are other marsupial species that are native to Australia and are considered endangered. Combining the species of Australia and New Guinea, there are more than 70 marsupial species, although many look nothing like the six-foot-tall Red Kangaroos.
Gilbert's Potoroo, a fungi-eating marsupial that is often called a “rat-kangaroo” based on its small size, has long born the title of Australia's Most Endangered Mammal and there are also several wallaby species that face similar extinction among countless other marsupials.
Many of the extremely endangered marsupials are fairly unknown outside of Australia, and the marsupials' struggle to survive is even less known.
“We're all about teaching people,” says Reines – and with Gili, they will be able to do just that.
As of right now, Reines has no plans to expand the WCC's kangaroo program.
“Maybe one day – but as of right now, he has a human family who loves him very much.”